Cooling and heating cup holder

ABSTRACT

A cooling and heating cup holder includes a holder body having a container shape, formed of a thermally conductive material, having a substantially uniform thickness, and having a contact portion pressed from an inner side to integrally protrude outward from one side surface thereof and having a contact surface forming a predetermined plane; a Peltier element including an operation surface and a heat radiating portion having an opposite row opposite to the operation surface and installed such that the operation surface is directly attached to the contact surface at an outer side of the holder body to transfer heat to the contact surface; and an air conditioner including a heat radiating duct in which the heat radiating portion of the Peltier element is buried and a blowing fan for blowing out air at one side of the heat radiating duct.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority of Korean Patent ApplicationNumber 10-2012-0101437 filed Sep. 13, 2012, the entire contents of whichapplication is incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a cooling and heating cup holdermounted to a vehicle and the like to receive a cup and cool and heat thecup.

2. Background Art

A cup holder is provided in a vehicle and the like. The cup holdergenerally includes a simple holding function, but a cup holder alsohaving a cooling and heating function is being introduced according to avehicle.

A representative patent document for such a cup holder is KR10-2005-0057805 A, in which a heat transfer block is coupled to a caseof the cup holder and a thermoelectric element is attached to the heattransfer block so that heat can be transferred to a container throughthe thermoelectric block.

However, in this construction, the thermoelectric block itself serves asa resistance, causing thermal conductivity to be low, which makes itdifficult to actually show a cooling and heating effect sufficiently.Thus, a structure of a cup holder which can increase the cooling andheating efficiency is necessary.

The information disclosed in this Background section is only forenhancement of understanding of the general background of the inventionand should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestionthat this information forms the prior art already known to a personskilled in the art.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention has been made in an effort to solve theabove-described problems associated with prior art. Various aspects ofthe present invention provide for a cooling and heating cup holderdesigned to have a structure having high thermal conductivity.

In various aspects, the present invention provides a cooling and heatingcup holder including: a holder body having a container shape, formed ofa thermally conductive material, having a substantially uniformthickness, and having a contact portion pressed from an inner side tointegrally protrude outward from one side surface thereof and having acontact surface forming a predetermined plane; a Peltier elementincluding an operation surface and a heat radiating portion having anopposite row opposite to the operation surface and installed such thatthe operation surface is directly attached to the contact surface at anouter side of the holder body to transfer heat to the contact surface;and an air conditioner including a heat radiating duct in which the heatradiating portion of the Peltier element is buried and a blowing fan forblowing out air at one side of the heat radiating duct.

A pair of holder bodies and a pair of Peltier elements may be providedto face each other with respect to the heat radiating duct, and the pairof Peltier elements may be installed to share the heat radiating ductand the blowing fan.

The contract portions of the holder bodies may protrude to face eachother, the Peltier elements may be provided to the contact portions,respectively, and the heat radiating portions of the Peltier elementsmay be buried to face the heat radiating duct such that heat is radiatedby one blowing fan.

The holder body may be integrally formed through a hydrofoaming methodsuch that the contact portion has a uniform thickness.

The contact portion may have a side surface portion bent at one sidesurface of the holder body to protrude and a contact surface formed on aplane to form an upper surface of the side surface portion.

The operation surface of the Peltier element and the contact surface ofthe holder body may make surface-contact with each other so that heat isdirectly transferred from the Peltier element to the holder body.

The cooling and heating cup holder may further include: an insulatorprovided to surround an outer surface of the holder body by apredetermined thickness.

The insulator may surround the holder body except for the contactportion.

The heat radiating portion of the Peltier element may correspond to heatradiating fins attached to the heat radiating surface corresponding toan opposite surface to the operation surface, and the heat radiatingduct may be installed to be close to the contact portion of the holderbody such that the heat radiating portion is entirely buried in the heatradiating duct.

A pair of holder bodies and a pair of Peltier elements may be providedto face each other with respect to the heat radiating duct, the contractportions of the holder bodies may protrude to face each other, thePeltier elements may be provided to the contact portions, respectively,the heat radiating portions of the Peltier elements may be buried toface the heat radiating duct such that heat is radiated by one blowingfan, the heat radiating portions of the Peltier element may correspondto heat radiating fins attached to a heat radiating surfacecorresponding to an opposite surface of the operation surface, and theheat radiating duct may be installed close to the contact portions ofthe holder bodies such that the heat radiating portions are entirelyburied in the heat radiating duct.

In other aspects, the present invention provides a cooling and heatingcup holder including: a holder body having a container shape, formed ofa thermally conductive material, having a substantially uniformthickness, and having a curved portion pressed from an outer side to beintegrally curved inward from one side surface thereof and having anattaching surface forming a predetermined plane; a Peltier elementincluding an operation surface and a heat radiating portion having anopposite row opposite to the operation surface and installed such thatthe operation surface is directly attached to the attaching surface atan outer side of the holder body to transfer heat to the contactsurface; and an air conditioner including a heat radiating duct in whichthe heat radiating portion of the Peltier element is buried and ablowing fan for blowing out air at one side of the heat radiating duct.

A pair of holder bodies and a pair of Peltier elements may be providedto face each other with respect to the heat radiating duct, and the heatradiating duct may be installed to pass between the facing curvedportions such that both the facing heat radiating portions are buried toface the heat radiating duct so as to share the heat radiating duct andthe blowing fan.

Streamlined recessed portions may be formed at opposite points ofopposite side surfaces of the heat radiating duct, a pair of holderbodies may be seated on the recessed portions to be attached to therecessed portions, and an insulator having a predetermined thickness maybe provided to surround outer surfaces of the holder bodies except forthe curved portions so that the holder bodies are thermally insulatedfrom interior air of the heat radiating duct.

According to the cooling and heating cup holder having theabove-described structure, when beverage is preserved in a cooled orheated state, heat loss can be minimized due to elimination of thermalresistance and a rapid effect can be improved by reducing necessarythermal capacity.

Further, the productivity of the cup holder can be remarkably improvedand the cup holder can be manufactured in the form of a thin film,minimizing weight.

In addition, the cup holder shares one air conditioner in a sufficientlyinsulated state, achieving an optimum structure.

The methods and apparatuses of the present invention have other featuresand advantages which will be apparent from or are set forth in moredetail in the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, andthe following Detailed Description, which together serve to explaincertain principles of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 to 5 are views showing an exemplary cooling and heating cupholder according to the present invention.

FIGS. 6 to 8 are views showing an exemplary cooling and heating cupholder according to the present invention.

It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarilyto scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of variousfeatures illustrative of the basic principles of the invention. Thespecific design features of the present invention as disclosed herein,including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations,and shapes will be determined in part by the particular intendedapplication and use environment.

In the figures, reference numbers refer to the same or equivalent partsof the present invention throughout the several figures of the drawing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of thepresent invention(s), examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and described below. While the invention(s) willbe described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will beunderstood that present description is not intended to limit theinvention(s) to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, theinvention(s) is/are intended to cover not only the exemplaryembodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalentsand other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scopeof the invention as defined by the appended claims.

FIGS. 1 to 5 are views showing an exemplary cooling and heating cupholder according to the present invention. FIG. 1 shows one holder body,and FIGS. 2 to 5 show a cup holder having two holder bodies.

First, referring to FIG. 1, the cooling and heating cup holder accordingto various embodiments of present invention may include: a holder body100 having a container shape, formed of a thermally conductive material,having a substantially uniform thickness, and having a contact portion120 pressed from an inner side to integrally protrude outward from oneside surface thereof and having a contact surface 122 forming apredetermined plane; a Peltier element 300 including an operationsurface 320 and a heat radiating portion 340 having an opposite rowopposite to the operation surface 320 and installed such that theoperation surface 320 is directly attached to the contact surface 122 atan outer side of the holder body 100 to transfer heat to the contactsurface 122; and an air conditioner 500 including a heat radiating duct520 in which the heat radiating portion 340 of the Peltier element 300is buried and a blowing fan 540 for blowing out air at one side of theheat radiating duct.

The holder body 100 corresponds to the body of the cup holder and havinga container shape an upper surface of which is opened. Further, theholder body 100 is formed of a thermally conductive material to becooled or heated through thermal conduction. The contact portion 120 isformed to have a substantially uniform thickness, and the contactportion 120 pressed from an inner side to protrude outward is integrallyformed with one side surface of the holder body 100. One will appreciatethat the contact portion may be monolithically formed with the holderbody. The holder body 100 may be formed through a hydrofoaming method,and accordingly, the holder body 100 is uniformly formed to have a thinfilm together with the contact portion 120 to achieve a uniform thermalconduction effect.

The contact portion 120 has a contact surface 122 corresponding to apredetermined plane to directly make surface-contact with the Peltierelement to be described below. The contact portion 120 has a sidesurface portion 124 bent at one side surface of the holder body 100 toprotrude and a contact surface 122 formed on a plane to form an uppersurface of the side surface portion 124. The operation surface 320 ofthe Peltier element 300 and the contact surface 122 of the holder body100 make surface-contact with each other so that heat is directlytransferred from the Peltier element 300 to the holder body 100.

In detail, the Peltier element 300 includes an operation surface 320 anda heat radiating portion 340 having a row opposite to the operationsurface 320. According to the characteristics of the Peltier element300, when electric power is applied, the operation surface 320 is cooledor heated, and the opposite surface is heated or cooled in contrast.Since it is important to radiate heat from the opposite surface tomaximize the heat exchange characteristics of the Peltier element 300,the cooling/heating operation of the operation surface 320 is maximizedby radiating heat with the heat radiating portion 340 on the oppositesurface.

The operation surface 320 is directly attached to the contact surface122 on an outer side of the holder body 100 such that heat is directlytransferred from the operation surface 320 to the contact surface 122.Thus, since no heat transfer medium is inserted between the Peltierdevice 300 and the holder body 100, thermal efficiency is considerablyimproved and the number of manufacturing processes is minimized.

The heat radiating portion 340 of the Peltier element 300 corresponds toheat radiating fins attached to the heat radiating surface correspondingto an opposite surface to the operation surface 320, and the heatradiating duct 520 is installed to be close to the contact portion 120of the holder body 100 such that the heat radiating portion 340 isentirely buried in the heat radiating duct 520.

The air conditioner includes a heat radiating duct and a blower, and theheat radiating portion 340 of the Peltier element 300 is buried in theheat radiating duct and a blowing fan 540 for blowing out air at oneside of the heat radiating duct is provided to radiate heat. The heatradiating portion 340 of the Peltier element directly radiates heat as aburial hole 522 penetrates into the heat radiating duct 520 and isburied, achieving an effective air conditioning effect through a simplestructure.

Due to the coupling relationship between the holder body, the Peltierelement, and the air conditioner, direct thermal conduction can increasethermal efficiency, the integral shape of the holder body can reducethermal resistance to achieve uniform cooling, and the compact heatradiating structure can reduce a volume of the product.

The cooling and heating cup holder further includes an insulator 700provided to surround an outer surface of the holder body 100 by apredetermined thickness, and the insulator 700 surrounds the holder body100 except for the contact portion 120. Through this, heat exchangearound the contact portion 120 due to interior air of the heat radiatingduct 520 can be prevented, making the thermal conduction at the contactportion 120 more effective.

Meanwhile, a pair of holder bodies 100 and a pair of Peltier elements300 may be provided to face each other with respect to the heatradiating duct 520. The pair of Peltier elements 300 and 300′ areinstalled to share the heat radiating duct 520 and the blowing fan 540.In this construction, since two cups can be received to have asymmetrical structure and can share the heat radiating structure, theentire volume becomes very compact.

The contract portions 120 and 120′ of the holder bodies 100 and 100′protrude to face each other, the Peltier elements 300 and 300′ areprovided to the contact portions 120 and 120′, respectively, and theheat radiating portions of the Peltier elements 300 and 300′ are buriedto face the heat radiating duct 520 such that heat is radiated by oneblowing fan 540, making it possible to share the heat radiatingstructure.

In detail, a pair of holder bodies 100 and a pair of Peltier elements300 are provided to face each other with respect to the heat radiatingduct 520, and the contract portions 120 and 120′ of the holder bodies100 and 100′ protrude to face each other, the Peltier elements 300 and300′ are provided to the contact portions 120 and 120′, respectively.

When the heat radiating portions of the Peltier elements 300 and 300′are buried to face the heat radiating duct 520 such that heat isradiated by one blowing fan 540, the heat radiating portions of thePeltier 300 and 300′ correspond to heat radiating fins attached to aheat radiating surface corresponding to an opposite surface of theoperation surface, and the heat radiating duct 520 is installed close tothe contact portions 120 and 120′ of the holder bodies 100 and 100′ suchthat the heat radiating portions are entirely buried in the heatradiating duct 520, two holder bodies can be cooled and heated at thesame time through one heat radiating structure and the heat radiatingportions of the Peltier elements 300 and 300′ are buried to face eachother in the heat radiating duct 520 so that the holder bodies 100 arelocated close to each other and have a compact structure.

FIGS. 6 to 8 are views showing an exemplary cooling and heating cupholder according to the present invention, and the cooling and heatingcup holder according to various embodiments of the present invention arecharacterized in that a coupling portion of a Peltier element formed ina holder body has a curved portion 160 bent inward.

The holder body 100 has a container shape, is formed of a thermallyconductive material, has a substantially uniform thickness, and has acurved portion 160 pressed from an outer side to be integrally curvedinward from one side surface thereof and having an attaching surface 162forming a predetermined plane.

Like the above embodiments, the Peltier element 300 includes anoperation surface 320 and a heat radiating portion 340 having anopposite row opposite to the operation surface 320 and installed suchthat the operation surface 320 is directly attached to the attachingsurface 162 at an outer side of the holder body 100 to transfer heat tothe contact surface 122.

Meanwhile, the cooling and heating cup holder includes an airconditioner 500 including a heat radiating duct 520 in which the heatradiating portion 340 of the Peltier element 300 is buried and a blowingfan 540 for blowing out air at one side of the heat radiating duct.

Even in this structure, a pair of holder bodies 100 and a pair ofPeltier elements 300 may be provided to face each other with respect tothe heat radiating duct 520, and the heat radiating duct 520 may beinstalled to pass between the facing curved portions 160 and 160′ suchthat both the facing heat radiating portions are buried to face the heatradiating duct 520 so as to share the heat radiating duct 520 and theblowing fan 540.

However, streamlined recessed portions 560 and 560′ need to formed atopposite points of opposite side surfaces of the heat radiating duct520. A pair of holder bodies 100 and 100′ are seated on the recessedportions 560 and 560′ to be attached to the recessed portions 560 and560′. Through this structure, the distance between the holder bodies 100and 100′ can be made closer than in the above embodiments.

Meanwhile, an insulator 700 having a predetermined thickness is providedto surround outer surfaces of the holder bodies 100 and 100′ except forthe curved portions 160 and 160′ so that the holder bodies 100 and 100′are thermally insulated from interior air of the heat radiating duct520. Thus, the holder bodies 100 and 100′ attached and coupled to aninterior of the heat radiating duct 520 are thermally insulated so asnot to damage cooling and heating efficiency.

According to the cooling and heating cup holder having theabove-described structure, when beverage is preserved in a cooled orheated state, heat loss can be minimized due to elimination of thermalresistance and a rapid effect can be improved by reducing necessarythermal capacity.

Further, the productivity of the cup holder can be remarkably improvedand the cup holder can be manufactured in the form of a thin film,minimizing weight.

In addition, the cup holder shares one air conditioner in a sufficientlyinsulated state, achieving an optimum structure.

For convenience in explanation and accurate definition in the appendedclaims, the terms upper and etc. are used to describe features of theexemplary embodiments with reference to the positions of such featuresas displayed in the figures.

The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention have been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously manymodifications and variations are possible in light of the aboveteachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in orderto explain certain principles of the invention and their practicalapplication, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to make andutilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as wellas various alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended thatthe scope of the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto andtheir equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cooling and heating cup holder comprising: aholder body shaped to receive container therein, formed of a thermallyconductive material, having a substantially uniform thickness, andhaving a contact portion pressed from an inner side to integrallyprotrude outward from one side surface thereof and having a contactsurface forming a predetermined plane; a Peltier element including anoperation surface and a heat radiating portion having an opposite rowopposite to the operation surface and installed such that the operationsurface is directly attached to the contact surface at an outer side ofthe holder body to transfer heat to the contact surface; and an airconditioner including a heat radiating duct in which the heat radiatingportion of the Peltier element is inserted and a blowing fan for blowingout air at one side of the heat radiating duct.
 2. The cooling andheating cup holder of claim 1, wherein a pair of holder bodies and apair of Peltier elements are provided to face each other with respect tothe heat radiating duct, and the pair of Peltier elements are installedto share the heat radiating duct and the blowing fan.
 3. The cooling andheating cup holder of claim 2, wherein the contract portions of theholder bodies protrude to face each other, the Peltier elements areprovided to the contact portions, respectively, and the heat radiatingportions of the Peltier elements are buried to face the heat radiatingduct such that heat is radiated by one blowing fan.
 4. The cooling andheating cup holder of claim 1, wherein the holder body is integrallyformed through a hydrofoaming method such that the contact portion has auniform thickness.
 5. The cooling and heating cup holder of claim 1,wherein the contact portion has a side surface portion bent at one sidesurface of the holder body to protrude and a contact surface formed on aplane to form an upper surface of the side surface portion.
 6. Thecooling and heating cup holder of claim 1, wherein the operation surfaceof the Peltier element and the contact surface of the holder body makesurface-contact with each other so that heat is directly transferredfrom the Peltier element to the holder body.
 7. The cooling and heatingcup holder of claim 1, further comprising: an insulator provided tosurround an outer surface of the holder body by a predeterminedthickness.
 8. The cooling and heating cup holder of claim 7, wherein theinsulator surrounds the holder body except for the contact portion. 9.The cooling and heating cup holder of claim 1, wherein the heatradiating portion of the Peltier element corresponds to heat radiatingfins attached to the heat radiating surface corresponding to an oppositesurface to the operation surface, and the heat radiating duct isinstalled to be close to the contact portion of the holder body suchthat the heat radiating portion is entirely buried in the heat radiatingduct.
 10. The cooling and heating cup holder of claim 1, wherein a pairof holder bodies and a pair of Peltier elements are provided to faceeach other with respect to the heat radiating duct, the contractportions of the holder bodies protrude to face each other, the Peltierelements are provided to the contact portions, respectively, the heatradiating portions of the Peltier elements are buried to face the heatradiating duct such that heat is radiated by one blowing fan, the heatradiating portions of the Peltier element correspond to heat radiatingfins attached to a heat radiating surface corresponding to an oppositesurface of the operation surface, and the heat radiating duct isinstalled close to the contact portions of the holder bodies such thatthe heat radiating portions are entirely buried in the heat radiatingduct.
 11. A cooling and heating cup holder comprising: a holder bodyshaped to receive container therein, formed of a thermally conductivematerial, having a substantially uniform thickness, and having a curvedportion pressed from an outer side to be integrally curved inward fromone side surface thereof and having an attaching surface forming apredetermined plane; a Peltier element including an operation surfaceand a heat radiating portion having an opposite row opposite to theoperation surface and installed such that the operation surface isdirectly attached to the attaching surface at an outer side of theholder body to transfer heat to the contact surface; and an airconditioner including a heat radiating duct in which the heat radiatingportion of the Peltier element is inserted and a blowing fan for blowingout air at one side of the heat radiating duct.
 12. The cooling andheating cup holder of claim 11, wherein a pair of holder bodies and apair of Peltier elements are provided to face each other with respect tothe heat radiating duct, and the heat radiating duct is installed topass between the facing curved portions such that both the facing heatradiating portions are buried to face the heat radiating duct so as toshare the heat radiating duct and the blowing fan.
 13. The cooling andheating cup holder of claim 12, wherein streamlined recessed portionsare formed at opposite points of opposite side surfaces of the heatradiating duct, a pair of holder bodies are seated on the recessedportions to be attached to the recessed portions, and an insulatorhaving a predetermined thickness is provided to surround outer surfacesof the holder bodies except for the curved portions so that the holderbodies are thermally insulated from interior air of the heat radiatingduct.